Shadowbrook Restaurant in Capitola

Exceptional experience from top-to-bottom! Enjoyed a fantastic dinner with our family and cannot say enough about the high quality of service and detail. Food was very good and the baked brie for a starter was delicious. Atmosphere was so unique and detailed which really made a night to remember. Highly recommend riding the tram to the entrance. We will be back!

Such a cute, kitch experience! The funicular down to the restaurant sets the tone for you. The old school lodge feel and the hustle of the bar area created excitement. The service once seated was fantastic, as the server knew the large menu inside and out and gave thoughtful recommendations based on a few basic questions he asked. The food itself is best described as home cooking. The best dishes that your grandmother makes are all here. Tasty, hearty, large portions.Highly recommend for the “experience” and at least the food is solid. Not a Michelin experience but definitely memorable and fun. HIGHLY recommend.Another fun experience is the shuttle that they offer using old school classic 50’s cabs!

The food here is exceptional, and the service is wonderful. The unique experience of taking a railway down to the restaurant adds to the romance of the evening. The bacon-wrapped shrimp was just perfect—nicely done! I thoroughly enjoyed my time here—the vibe is just right. Highly recommended for those seeking a romantic and delightful culinary adventure.

This is a beautiful vintage restaurant in the North CA. They also provide the a very cute and classic cable car from the uphill to down hill which is the selling point of this restaurant. They also have antique taxi to pick up and drop off customers upon reservation within 3 miles of distance. It feels like a Time Machine to bring you back the 70’. Service are great and we came here during lunch time and were seated at the patio area. They didn’t open the dining room area for lunch time and some menu dishes are only for dinner time. The lowest level patio seating had great river View but it wasn’t opened for seating. Very cute and classic restroom. I simply love it here for the atmosphere. Food was average and not impressive. Nothing special here about the food.

Very lovely place and foodThere is plenty of parking place. Very close to Capitola beach.Nice place to spend a day or eveningOnce parked and walk towards restaurant which is downstairs and can be reached but steps through a beautiful garden or take a lovely looking trolley which can carry six people at once.Restaurant itself is very big and beautiful with water body. This has inside and rooftop and outside seating next to water and it is very beautifulService was nice and everyone here was nice and amazing.Coming to food:Black truffle gnocchi is our MVPartichoke soup was tastyHouse salad was awesomeCheese pizza was goodNada colada was amazingMarine layer was goodVery nice wine optionsMud pie and truffles were out of this worldDon’t miss this. Go have fun

I saw this place on a video a couple of years ago and have been wanting to go since then. Finally decided to drive down from San Francisco and spend a couple days in Santa Cruz. So glad Shadowbrook is just about 10 minutes away from where we were staying. I made the reservation through Yelp almost a month in advance for a Tuesday night dinner for 2. I only told my boyfriend about the restaurant the day before, so he was pleasantly surprised by the funicular when we got there. The staff that greeted us were nice and friendly and were then walked to and seated in the wine cellar. We did notice a little nook with a table for 2 right on the stairs on the way down to the wine cellar. It was so cute! But anyway, we ordered the coconut lavender lemonade (so good!) and the Marine Flyer, which was basically my lemonade with rum. Both were really good and gave us beach vibes. WAs for food, we got the baked brie to start, I got the blackened 12 oz prime rib, and my boyfriend got the scampi with sirloin. They do give you warm bread and whipped butter before your appetizers. We both enjoyed and inhaled because we were past our usual dinner time. The Baked Brie was so good and we did finish it, but its enough for about 3 or 4. I loved the spices on the blackened prime rib. And my boyfriend also enjoyed the scampi and steak. Their entrees are huge, so we almost didnt get dessert, but decided to try their bread pudding with peaches and cream. Yum! But yeah, we left feeling FULL.We also had an amazing server, Monica. She was friendly and kept the mood up. Great menu recommendations as well.I really suggest dropping by. Its a whole experience. The location and ambience is beautiful and the food does keep up with that. Its a whole package. Great place for a special occasion or even for a random weekend trip like what it was for us.

An incredible place to go for dinner! My wife and I celebrated our anniversary there and loved every bit of the restaurant. The atmosphere is stunning. Definitely recommend riding the gondola down into the lush gardens below towards the restaurant. The dining room we were in was built around a beautiful Monterey pine. The service was top notch. Kent was a great server and was very kind and knew so much about the surrounding area and restaurant. I got the steak special and it was phenomenal. Will definitely be going again!

I really liked the vibe of this place! When we started our journey by taking the cable car, arriving to the spacious hall/intersection of the labyrinth of different rooms, each one with its own vibe - the emotion was “at last! A really cool OG American restaurant!”We got a seat in a room called “Greenhouse” and it was really close to the creek with large windows along the walls and selling. Our waiter was very nice, acknowledged and not annoying which I appreciate a lot. We tried Soba noodle medley and Blackened Prime Rib and both were delicious. The cocktail Caramel Appletine was a perfect dessert for me, sweet and sour with a mild apple flavor.As my husband mentioned that we are celebrating our Anniversary when booking the spot, we were given a couple of chocolate truffles as a compliment from the chef. It was an absolute amazing experience for us to visit this place and I can’t recommend it more for the special occasions.

You’re in for a real treat… what an experience this historical gem is. From the moment you step foot in the trolley you know it’s going to be a experience. When you walk into the restaurant you just want to take it all in and wander the restaurant… you’re instantly warmly greeted. As you’re walked to your seat you get to peak at the restaurant’s aesthetics and the ambiance is truly magical. I loved all the old pictures on display and the cute lights and not to forget the outdoor seating is absolutely beautiful too… but it was on the chilly side for us so we opted to sit inside. Our server, Eli was fantastic. He was so knowledgeable on everything in the menu and made great suggestions. We started with the Shadowbrook house salad with bacon wrapped prawns. It was delicious. We also ordered both soups. My fiancé enjoyed the creamy artichoke but we both agreed the clam chowder was hands down the best one. It is up there with possibly being the best clam chowder we’ve had. My fiancé had a Ginger Manhattan for his first drink, then the ultimate side car they were both good but I think he enjoyed the ultimate side car a bit more. We also had the butchers filet and it was perfection. Honestly all the flavors blended so well together I wish I was having a bite right now. We also had a coffee crunch pie I don’t remember exactly what it was called but it was yummy if you enjoy coffee you’ll love this dessert as much as my fiancé did. I also had to try the hot pear cider and it was so delicious. We then went to explore the restaurant a little and we’re just in awe of its beauty. We sat at the bar and I had another hot pear cider and my fiancé had a New Orleans Sazerac as a night cap. This restaurant is for the books and we can’t wait to go back when we visit Capitola.

One of the iconic Bay Area restaurants that never disappoints. Great place for celebrating a special occasion or brining a out of town guest to impress, you get great food, excellent service and beautiful views. The restaurant is walking distance to downtown Capitola and for what you get I would say it’s surprisingly cheap.